Tag: James Deane

Formula DRIFT Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight” Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight” Results;

Piotr Wiecek Takes the Event Victory and James Deane is Crowned Champion

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FD-Champ

Long Beach, Calif. – October 14, 2017 – Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras returned to Irwindale Speedway for Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight”. Piotr Wiecek in the Worthhouse / Falken Tire Nissan 240 takes home his first Formula DRIFT victory and clinches Rookie of the Year honors, while his teammate James Deane in the Worthhouse / Falken Tire Nissan 240 clinches his first Formula DRIFT Championship.

Deane completed an impressive season with four event victories and a third place finish at tonight’s finale to secure the championship. His sponsor Falken Tire swept the podium and won the Tire Manufacturer championship for their second consecutive time. Toyota wins their fourth consecutive Manufacturer championship.

“It’s been such an intense weekend at the biggest event I’ve ever competed in with the championship on the line at one of the craziest tracks I’ve ever driven,” said James Deane, 2017 Formula DRIFT champion. “It is also my birthday today so there was just so many emotions and with so many fans coming in from Ireland and Poland, I just wanted to put on a good show. It’s just been a dream season.”

The sold out crowd came for one last Formula DRIFT finale at Irwindale Speedway, which is often referred as the birthplace of US drifting. The Livestream drew over 1 millionviews over the course of the event.

“This was an incredible season that saw the rise of two exceptional international drivers. It’s a testament of the talent in the Series having the best drifters in the world choosing Formula DRIFT to compete,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our 15th season and have some exciting things planned for next year.”

In the Top 4, Vaughn Gittin in the Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR faced off against Daijiro Yoshihara in the Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ. In his chase run, Gittin made contact with the wall giving the win to Yoshihara to move him into the Finals. While in the Great 8, Deane and Aurimas Bakchis, made contact, which Bakchis was deemed at fault. Deane failed to get his car fixed in the allotted time giving his Worthouse teammate the win to put him into the Finals. In the Finals, Yoshihara and Wiecek had a very close battle, but the speed and proximity of Wiecek was too much to overcome. Wiecek takes his first Formula DRIFT victory and secured his Rookie of the Year honors

“I feel amazing,” said Piotr Wiecek, winner of Round 8: Title Fight. “It’s such a great atmosphere and such a great sport. I’d like to thank my whole crew and teammate James. What an unbelievable season.”

For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight”

1. Wiecek, Piotr

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

Winner

2. Yoshihara, Dai

Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ

2nd Place

3. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

3rd Place

4. Gittin, Vaughn

Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

4th Place

5. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

5th Place

6. Pawlak, Justin

Roush Performance Ford Mustang

6th Place

7. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

7th Place

8. Heilbrunn, Alec

Monster BMW E46

8th Place

9. Denofa, Chelsea

BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

9th Place

10. Forsberg, Chris

NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z

10th Place

11. Essa, Michael

Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW E46

11th Place

12. Field, Matt

Falken Tire / Vapetasia / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

12th Place

13. Hohnadell, Alec

Urban Air / Hoonigan / Nexen Tire Nissan 240

13th Place

14. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E92

14th Place

15. Gushi, Ken

GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota 86

15th Place

16. Castro, Jhonnattan

Gerdau Metaldom / Nexen Toyota GT86

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Final Standings

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

651.00 Points

2. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

538.00 Points

3. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

418.00 Points

2017 Manufacturer Championship Final Standings

1. Toyota

923.00 Points

2. Ford

751.00 Points

3. BMW

367.00 Points

4. Dodge

311.00 Points

4. Nissan

294.00 Points

6. Infiniti

174.00 Points

2017 Tire Championship Final Standings

1. Falken

1255.00 Points

2. Nexen

979.00 Points

3. Achilles

877.00 Points

4. Nitto

781.00 Points

5. Hankook

705.00 Points

Formula DRIFT Round 7: AutoZone Showdown Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 7: AutoZone Showdown Results;

James Deane Increases His Chances for a Championship with the Win

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FD-RD7-Podium-600

Long Beach, Calif. – September 9, 2017 – Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras returned to Texas Motor Speedway for Round 7: AutoZone Showdown. James Deane in the Worthhouse / Falken Tire Nissan S15 had a perfect weekend as the number one qualifier and with his second consecutive event victory.

Irish driver James Deane has tied a Formula DRIFT record with his fourth event victory in a single season to increase his lead in the Pro Championship standings with only one event remaining. The capacity crowd was entertained throughout the event weekend, while the Livestream drew over 1 million views over the course of the event.

“This was quite the weekend here in Texas,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “With so much on the line, it made for an intense competition that I hope the fans enjoyed.”

In the Top 4, number one qualifier and current points leader, James Deane in the Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240 faced off against former champion and second in points, Fredric Aasbo in the Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM. Deane was able to edge past his opponent to move into the Finals. On the other side of the Top 4 bracket, former champion Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Nissan 370Z faced Aurimas Bakchis in the Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels Nissan 240. A mistake by Bakchis on his chase run gave Forsberg the win. In the Finals, Deane’s consistent driving proved to be too much as Forsberg fell back and took a shallow line on his chase run, which ultimately lead to his win and a considerable lead heading into the Finals.

“I’ve drifted plenty of tracks in my time, but I’ve never drifted coming out of the first corner with a straight so long where you’re sitting behind the lead car just filled with smoke,” said James Deane, winner of Round 7: Showdown. “It worked out for me this time. I’m just super happy for everyone that supports me and everyone back home.”

The action continues to Round 8: Title Fight on October 13-14 at Irwindale Speedway. For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 7: Showdown Results

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

Winner

2. Forsberg, Chris

NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z

2nd Place

3. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

3rd Place

4. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

4th Place

5. Denofa, Chelsea

BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

5th Place

6. Yoshihara, Dai

Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ

6th Place

7. Gushi, Ken

GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota 86

7th Place

8. Gittin, Vaughn

Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

8th Place

9. Coffman, Matt

Nexen Tire / Coffman Racing Nissan 240

9th Place

10. Tuerck, Ryan

Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86

10th Place

11. Wiecek, Piotr

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

11th Place

12. Essa, Michael

Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW E46

12th Place

13. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46

13th Place

14. Pawlak, Justin

Roush Performance Ford Mustang

14th Place

15. Hohnadell, Alec

Urban Air / Hoonigan / Nexen Tire Nissan 240

15th Place

16. Castro, Jhonnattan

Gerdau Metaldom / Nexen Toyota GT86

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 7 Events

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

582.00 Points

2. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

486.00 Points

3. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

367.00 Points

2017 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 7 Events

1. Toyota

837.00 Points

2. Ford

632.00 Points

3. BMW

331.00 Points

4. Dodge

275.00 Points

4. Nissan

275.00 Points

6. Infiniti

156.00 Points

2017 Tire Championship Standings After 7 Events

1. Falken

1065.00 Points

2. Nexen

892.00 Points

3. Achilles

807.00 Points

4. Nitto

664.00 Points

5. Hankook

645.00 Points

Sideways Art: Focusing On Visuals By Speedhunters

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It’s been a very busy summer of Speedhunting for me.

I haven’t updated these pages with many photos from the Formula Drift season thus far as I figured Paddy has been telling some great stories from the paddock while following the Worthouse Drift Team closely. I always like to take a different approach when there’s more than one Speedhunter at the same event shooting the same subjects, and for FD I really wanted to focus on the visual beauty and the powerful emotions behind the motorsport. With that said, here are 100 of my favorite shots from the past four events, with a few captions added here and there.

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It’s been a crazy season so far with Fredric Aasbø and James Deane at each other’s throats.

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For the Worthouse team, it’s proved to be massively effective having cars that are 95 percent identical.

Larry_Chen_Speedhunters_Formula_drift_visuals_04

The sandwich I ate for lunch was this big.

Larry_Chen_Speedhunters_Formula_drift_visuals_05

 

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Deane x Więcek: One Step Closer by Speedhunters

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2017-Formula-Drift-Seattle-Speedhunters-Worthouse-by-Paddy-McGrath-1861-1200x800

The speed at which the 2017 Formula Drift season is passing, is frightening. It feels like only a couple of weeks ago that James Deane and Piotr Więcek shared their plan to compete a full FD campaign in 2017, but in reality, it was 10 months back. By the time the Irwindale final comes around in October, it will have been over a year since the decision was made.

From the outside, expectations have been high for the newest team in the paddock. In particular, expectations for what James would achieve in his first season have been astronomical. It hasn’t been quite that straight-forward, but what the Worthouse Drift Team have achieved in what has only ever been intended as a learning year, has far exceeded even their own expectations.

2017 Formula Drift Seattle Speedhunters Worthouse by Paddy McGrath-1

When I caught up with the team in Monroe last week, James was narrowly leading the points standings with Piotr being miles ahead of his nearest rival for Rookie of the Year honours.

2017 Formula Drift Seattle Speedhunters Worthouse by Paddy McGrath-2

The cars had been transported from the previous round in Montreal, all the way back to the Bridges Racing workshop in Huntington Beach, California, before making the long drive north along PCH to Washington state. While at Bridges, both cars were checked over, and in Piotr’s case, repaired after his run in with the wall at the Autodrome St-Eustache.

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Things Heat Up At Formula Drift Seattle By What Monsters Do

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Essa BMW

The 2017 Formula Drift season is now well on the later half of the championship now that Round 6 in Seattle has concluded. For 11 years FD has been visiting Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Sitting Just outside of Seattle, it is by far one of the favorites on the series schedule, given it has not only a high speed bank after the initiation zone, but allows for several dramatic zones as the course wraps up. Evergreen Speedway already had smoke in the air from the nearby wildfires, and Round 6 surely wasn’t about to help the situation. Odi Bakchis won Seattle last year, would he repeat in front of the packed house? Let’s recap and find out.

Aasbo Toyota Seattle

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